UNC Charlotte's Embedded Systems and Autonomous Vehicle Lab

James M. Conrad1

Outline of talk

Part 1:• Examples of Research in Embedded Systems and

Robotics at UNC Charlotte, collaboration opportunities

Part 2:• The UNC Charlotte College

of Engineering Industrial of Engineering Industrial Multidisciplinary Senior Design Program

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First of All, Who Am I?

James M. Conrad, ProfessorDept. of Electrical and

Computer EngineeringUniversity of North Carolina

at Charlotte, USA

Worked at:Worked at:• IBM• Ericsson and Sony Ericsson• Two start-ups• Three universities• Consultant (iRobot, Emerson, others)

All experiences were in the field of embedded systems & robotics.

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Yes, I am the Stiquito Guy

StiquitoControlledRobot V0.1 (1998)

V1.0 (2005)

V0.2 (2002)

V0.3 (2004)

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Embedded Systems at UNC Charlotte

The Embedded Systems and Autonomous Vehicle Lab has a long history of university/industry collaboration with companies like:

EmersonElectric Power Research Institute (EPRI)Frontline Test EquipmentiRobotiRobotNational Instruments Zapata Engineering

Graduated students currently work in embedded systems jobs at Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Intel, General Dynamics, iRobot, Seagate, and The Mathworks.

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Areas of Expertise

Microcontroller/microprocessor-based systems design (TI, Atmel, Renesas, Microchip, Cypress, Xilinx, others)

Embedded systems software development and testingSensor development and use, including wireless sensor

networksAutonomous robotics – design,

assembly, sensing, actuation, assembly, sensing, actuation, control, and path planning

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Resources

500 square-feet of indoor lab space, 500 square-feet of garage lab space, two Faraday cages

Computing systems and software compilersMicrocontroller/microprocessor development boardsSensing, actuation and wireless devicesPrototyping machines and tools (board etching/milling

machine, commercial soldering stations, drill press, jigsaw, machine, commercial soldering stations, drill press, jigsaw, 3-D microscope)

Mobile robotics platforms - commercial: National Instruments DaNI robots, GEARS vehicles, iRobot Roomba and Creates, quadrotors; custom: pipe-crawler, tele-presence, wheeled.

Autonomous All-Terrain Vehicle (Honda FourTrax ATV)

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Current Projects

• Autonomous All-Terrain Vehicle steering and object avoidance.

• Investigation of spatially dynamic lighting systems• Adaptability to variations of renewable energy in large

scale rechargeable wireless sensor networks• Quadrotor swarm

applicationsapplications

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Building Swarms of Quadrotors

Objective: use image processing and IR “beacons” to autonomously maintain a quadrotor swarm.

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Using Cameras to Keep a Constant Distance

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Partnering – SBIR and STTR

The SBIR/STTR program is a great way for a small company to partner with a university to transition technology from the university to the company.

Agencies with programs include USDA, DARPA, Department of Homeland Security, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Dept. of Energy

The State of NC can add matching funds.The State of NC can add matching funds.

Example: National Science Foundation • Provides $150,000 for 6 months (SBIR) or• Provides $225,000 for 12 months (STTR) – 40% must go

to universities• Funds used for research in preparation for

commercializing a product.

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UNC Charlotte Engineering Senior Design

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UNC Charlotte Multidisciplinary Senior Design

Low cost entryPossibly funded by Recruiting vs. Development DepartmentOpen for multi-disciplinary projectsMinor collaborative commitmentWin-win situation

– Students learn about company– Students learn about company– Company gets preview of students plus work

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Companies Ask: How Can it Help Me?

Industry partners profit from:• the opportunity to initiate elective research projects,• collaboration with UNC Charlotte research faculty,• the design, analysis, testing and creative talent of

students,• the creation of innovative and competitive products,• the creation of innovative and competitive products,• the development of improved manufacturing or business

processes,• the opportunity to see students at work and recruit seniors,• networking at the end-of-semester presentations and

competition.

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What Students Learn

• How to write requirements• How to plan a project• How to assess project risk• How to write project documentation• How to budget• How to design to and test to the requirements• How to design to and test to the requirements• Teamwork• Satisfying multiple bosses (sponsor and faculty mentor)

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How it Works

• Company provides project description• Project reviewed by instructors, posted to web• Students review website and “apply” for 3 projects• Instructors assign teams based upon skill, desire and

experience• Company provides technical representative.• Company provides technical representative.• Expect weekly contact with team• Faculty mentor assists team.• Teams design solution for 1st semester

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How it Works (continued)

• Implement design during 2nd semester (prototype or model)• Two formal design reviews each semester.• Each semester ends with Exposition of results• Company takes

prototype/modeland all designand test dataand test dataat last Expo.

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Contact Information

James M. Conrad, ProfessorDept. of Electrical and

Computer EngineeringUNC-Charlotte9201 University City BoulevardCharlotte, NC 28223

jmconrad@uncc.edu*Phone: 704-687-8597Fax: 704-687-5588http://webpages.uncc.edu/~jmconrad

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